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We mentioned this in a
previous article, but it might be noteworthy on its own. Amid all of the wild speculation that
Tom Brady could possibly land with his favorite team growing up, the San Francisco 49ers, one player wants to make it clear who he feels should be throwing him passes in 2020.
It's not entirely clear what All-Pro tight end
George Kittle was responding to, if anything, but he posted the following on Instagram today.
Kittle, of course, caught 85 footballs this past season from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and turned them into 1,053 receiving yards and five touchdowns. It was his second consecutive season recording 1,000-or-more yards and just as many trips into the end zone.
Kittle obviously believes the 49ers can return to the Super Bowl with Garoppolo, who helped guide the team there this past season.
Then you have to wonder what shipping Garoppolo, who is well-liked by teammates, out of town for a quarterback who is 14 years older, might do to the locker room.
"I think, just our mindset going into this offseason, if guys treat it the right way, I think we'll have every opportunity in the world to go back (to the Super Bowl)," Kittle said the week after Super Bowl LIV.
Another of Garoppolo's teammates who isn't buying into the Brady-to-49ers narrative is running back Jeff Wilson Jr.
"It's ludicrous,"
Wilson told Jose Luis Sanchez III of Sports Illustrated. "He just took us all the way to the Super Bowl, great season, 14 wins. I mean there's not a lot of quarterbacks that's even in this league that just had a season like that. And then you go from that season taking a team all the way to the Super Bowl, to talks of being traded.
"He's a great quarterback, he's been that way ever since he's been to San Fran. It's just unfortunate that he got hurt the year before and then kind of, you know, threw him back in the wilderness a little bit but he came right back in like he never left, and took a team all the way to the Super Bowl. So how can you talk about moving him or trading him to another team?"
Wilson didn't stop there.
"He's a leader," the running back continued. "And then when it's crunch time, it's like he turns into a totally different person. It's not the cool, calm, and collected Jimmy Garoppolo anymore. It's the leader of a national football team, and a very good one at that.
"So that's the type of person that he comes in, he gets everybody's attention, and he makes everybody focus and makes everybody want to play hard for him. And when you have somebody that can do that, especially your quarterback, I mean, your team is destined for greatness."
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will be present today as the team reports for the start of its offseason program. Purdy was a little early, as he hosted a youth football camp over the weekend.
Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group spoke to the 49ers quarterback during the event and asked him about one of his teammates, Brandon Aiyuk. The star wide receiver is currently in contract extension negotiations with the 49ers, and the team has emphasized keeping him around for the foreseeable future as an offseason priority.
Purdy has
According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco 49ers hosted former Florida State wide receiver Johnny Wilson on a pre-draft visit this week.
Wilson registered 41 receptions for 617 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games as a senior in 2023, per Sports Reference. His best statistical season came in 2022 when he hauled in 43 passes for 897 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Throughout his collegiate career, Wilson caught 102 passes for 1,757 yards with eight touchdowns over four seasons. He spent his first two seasons with Arizona State before transferring to Florida
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
